Contents

Weapon Overview

The Heavy Bowgun (ヘビィボウガン Hebyibōgan) is the ranged weapon of choice for those who wish to have as much firepower as they can, while still maintaining some distance. While much slower than their Light Bowgun cousins, they are the only ranged weapon that allows a shield to be attached, giving them guard capabilities. For an experienced gunner, this is more of a restraint since you can only attach a power barrel OR a shield. In games before MH3U, Heavy Bowguns usually do not support elemental shots unlike their cousins, the Light Bowguns. They mainly support raw damage shots (such as Crag or Pierce).

Notable Skills

Auto Reload - Once an ammo type is loaded, you will not have to reload that bullet type and may keep firing until you run out of that bullet type.

Reload - Reduces reloading time, allowing for more time spent attacking.

Capacity Up - Adds an additional bullet slot to the available ammo type. Useful for fitting in more shots without having to reload as often.

Precision - Heavy Bowguns often have a slight bullet curve. Use this skill to decrease this.

Recoil - Heavy Bowguns also often have a large amount of recoil. This skill reduces this.

Weapon Traits and Strategy

Shield attachment can block weak blows and help protect against some roars and flashes.

Evasion skills in your armor really shine as they help improve your poor mobility. Guard Inc. can also help improve your shield.
Due to the long unsheathing and sheathing animations and the fact that bowguns do not have an unsheathe attack, you should pull this weapon out in advance. Use your rolls when you need a burst of speed or to just get out of the way. You should always remember to keep a "bubble" around your target where you don't go in: generally a roll or two away from the wyvern depending on the shot type you are using. You should try to bring materials to create more ammo as you will likely run out if you are going to be using one particular type of shot.

You should also consider what kind of ammo to bring. With small monsters, like the Velocidrome or the Kirin, Pierce Shots are not suggested as they cannot do as much damage. Pellet Shots can help hit smaller, faster monsters due to their wide spread, but be wary of the short range. Shots such as Pierce or Clust are more for larger or longer monsters, such as the Plesioth or the Gravios. The other non-elemental shot types (Normal and Crag) serve as the general-purpose ammunition. One should always be cautious if you are hunting with someone, as all shots could also hit your teammates and could interrupt what they are doing. Also, if you plan on using Recovery Shot to support your team, be wary that the Recovery Shots could also heal the monster you are hunting.